Britain's big chill breaks temperature records

A man clears his car of snow at Bowburn, northern England November 28, 2010.

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Roofs are covered in snow in Newcastle, northern England November 28, 2010.

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A man walks his dogs in the snow at Bowburn, northern England November 28, 2010.

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Vehicles are driven through snow on the A1 road near Durham, northern England November 28, 2010.

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The Angel of the North statue is covered in snow in Newcastle, northern England November 28, 2010.

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The Angel of the North statue stands in the snow in Newcastle, northern England November 28, 2010. Britain shivered in unseasonably cold weather as the earliest widespread snowfall for 17 years blanketed many areas of the country.

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A steward clears snow from the side of the pitch, before the match against Chelsea, at St James' Park in Newcastle, northern England November 28, 2010.

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LONDON (Reuters) - The cold snap gripping Britain dragged temperatures to historic lows with Wales and Northern Ireland shivering through their coldest November night since records began, the Met Office said on Sunday.

Thermometers in Llysdinam in Powys, Wales, sank as far as minus 18C (-0.4F) Celsius while at Loch Fea in Northern Ireland they sank to minus 9.5C (14.9F).

In Scotland the mercury fell overnight to minus 15.3C (4.5F) at Loch Glascarnoch, while in England a temperature of minus 13.5C (7.7F) was recorded at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings of heavy snow for much of Scotland and northeast England. It said snowfalls of up to 25cm (10 inches) could accumulate on higher ground.

The cold and snow is forecast to last for a number of days, accompanied by severe frosts and icy conditions.

"The very low overnight temperatures we have seen are likely to be repeated through the coming week as the cold and snowy weather continues," said Met Office Chief Forecaster Steve Willington.

"As winds increase into next week, it will feel increasingly cold with a significant wind chill to contend with by day and night."

Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, holds the prize for the UK's lowest ever recorded November temperature. The mercury there plummeted to minus 23.3C (-9.9F) on November 14, 1919.